UX Video of the Week: Sketching & Paper Prototyping

“I haven’t done a wireframe in 2 years.” starts Todd Zaki Warfel in his talk about his intensive, iterative ideation sessions with clients followed by prototyping and discusses in this video why you should prototype. (Hat tip to theuxworkshop.tv.)

The process goes as follows:
1) Sketch: Start with quantity over quality. In about 5 minutes sketch 6-8 ideas.
2) Share: Throw them up on a wall side by side and present to the team. (Three minutes to pitch. Two minutes to critique. Four to 6 cycles in a day.)
3) Prototype: Figure out what to prototype (top 3-4 ideas).
3) Build: Bring it to life.

Why Prototype:
1) Work through our designs: Does it work? What doesn’t work? Where’s the hole(s)?
2) Communicate concepts: People are visual. They grasp what they see.
3) Sell an idea
4) Gauge technical feasibility
5) Test concepts with customers

What happens if you don’t (prototype)?
You get a domino effect. You think it’s going to work and testing shows otherwise. Yet you are in the middle of development. Or you have users screaming at the screen.

Six Guidelines:
1) Know your audience and intent.
2) Plan a little. Prototype the rest.
3) Set expectations.
4) You CAN sketch.
5) It’s not the Mona Lisa.
6) If you can’t really make it. Fake it.